Studying for a postgraduate research degree

Transcription

1 Studying for a postgraduate research degree

2 Research degrees at the University of Portsmouth We have a wide selection of research degrees including traditional PhDs, Professional Doctorates, Integrated Doctorates, MRes options and Medical Doctorates. Why study for a research degree at Portsmouth? The University of Portsmouth is ranked within the top two per cent of universities in the world in the most recent Higher Education World University rankings. In the most recent Research Excellence Framework in 2014, over 60 per cent of research submitted by the University was rated as world leading and internationally excellent. We have a thriving research community of more than 800 research students across five faculties who are supported by over 500 highly trained research supervisors. The University of Portsmouth Graduate School provides excellent support and guidance for the university-wide community of research students. Our comprehensive research degree training and development programme offers over 150 workshops on a wide range of topics to help you develop your research, professional and transferable skills. We offer high-quality specialist postgraduate facilities. The University is one of the top ten modern universities in the UK according to The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2015.

3 The Graduate School Development Programme (GSDP) As a research degree student with us, you will have access to the Graduate School Development Programme. This offers broad-based generic skills training with over 150 workshops on a wide range of topics including research design, doctoral process and career development. These extremely popular workshops are delivered by our expert tutors from across the University and support our students at all stages of their research degree. The GSDP also offers special interest groups, alongside elearning resources to help you extend your knowledge and skills as a researcher. It has been developed to complement the subject-specific and advanced training available to you from your faculty, department or research group and contributes to the 10 days a year of research development expected by the Research Councils UK (RCUK) for research students (five days for part-time students).

4 Types of research degree Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) A PhD is a globally-recognised postgraduate degree that involves extensive and original research into a specific chosen field. A PhD usually takes three years full time or six years part time and will prepare you to become an expert in your chosen field. To be awarded a PhD, you will be required to produce a thesis, which is usually between 40,000 and 80,000 words depending on your subject of study. A PhD is normally examined by a viva voce or oral defence of your thesis. Master of Philosophy (MPhil) An MPhil provides you with similar skills to a PhD. It requires extensive research, but you will not be required to provide the same level of original contribution. The MPhil involves submitting a thesis and defending your work successfully in an oral examination (viva voce). The programme takes two years if studying full time or four years if studying part time. Integrated Doctorate (ID) The ID programme gives you the opportunity to expand your subject or methods knowledge by initially undertaking a number of taught Master s-level units. Once these units have been successfully completed you then progress on to PhD registration. The content of the Master s units are negotiated by you and your supervisor. Master of Research (MRes) The MRes programme (one year full time, two years part time) offers you the opportunity for in-depth study in a specific area of interest while developing your skills in research. You will spend a third of your time studying the taught element of your course, covering your chosen subject and training in research methodology, and the remaining twothirds completing your personalised research dissertation.

5 We currently offer the following MRes degrees: MRes Humanities and Social Science MRes Science MRes Technology MRes Creative and Cultural Industries Professional Doctorate The Professional Doctorate is an internationally-recognised qualification for those who want to reach the highest level of professional and academic achievement in their field. It is designed for professionals, usually with an existing Master s qualification who are working in the private or public sectors, and who have an active interest in work-based research and professional practice issues. It is assessed through coursework, culminating in a doctoral-level thesis, public presentation and viva voce. Professional Doctorates are offered in the following three broad subject areas: Business Studies Criminal Justice Studies Health and Social Care Medical Doctorate (MD) A Medical Doctorate is a programme for students who hold a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery or Bachelor of Dental Surgery degree or equivalent. Your MD research is likely to draw on your clinical expertise and may involve clinical trials, epidemiology, laboratorybased research, systematic review, social science or qualitative methodologies. We welcome applications from candidates in the following research degree areas: Biomedical, Biomolecular and Pharmacy Health Sciences and Social Work

6 Our research degree areas You can study for a research degree at Portsmouth in the following areas. To find out more about our research or to enquire about specific research topics, please contact one of our Departmental Research Degree Coordinators listed below. Accounting, Economics and Finance Contact: Accounting: Dr Tony Hines [email protected] Economics: Dr Yaseen Ghulam [email protected] Supervision is available in the following areas: Financial Reporting, Audit, Corporate Governance, Accounting Education, Strategic Management Accounting, Financial Economics, International Finance, Banking and Intermediation, Behavioural Finance, International Macroeconomics, Social Policy, Development Economics and Cultural Economics. Architecture and Civil Engineering Contact: Architecture: Dr Fabiano Lemes [email protected] Civil Engineering and Surveying: Dr John Williams john.williams@ port.ac.uk Supervision is available in the following areas: Sustainable Architecture, Urban Design Regeneration and Related Issues, Interior Design Practice, Architecture Pedagogy and Theory, Environmental Technology and Management, Materials, Structures and Geotechnics, Construction Management and Surveying.

7 Art and Design Contact: Dr Simone Gumtau Supervision is available in the following areas: Art and Science, Culture and Cognition, Visual Culture, Design Epistemology/Design Process, Illustration and Social Awareness, Sensory Perception/Haptics, Embodied Interface Design, Typographic Design, Information Design/ Data Visualisation, Artists Book, Zines and Independent Publishing. Biological Science Contact: Dr Tim Hebbes Supervision is available in the following areas: Molecular Biophysics, Biodiversity and Evolution, Epigenetics and Developmental Biology, Ecotoxicology and Environmental Modelling, and Marine Resource Management. Biomedical, Biomolecular and Pharmacy Contact: Dr Ivor Ebenezer Supervision is available in the following areas: Biomaterials and Drug Delivery, Cell Biology and Pharmacology, Pharmacy Practice, Epigenetics and Developmental Biology. Business and Management Contact: Organisational Studies and Human Resource Management: Dr Liza Howe-Walsh Marketing and Sales: Dr Lillian Clark Operations and Systems Management: Dr Debbie Reed Strategy, Enterprise and Innovation: Dr Andreas Hoecht andreas.

8 Supervision is available in the following areas: Employment Relations and Human Resource Management, Global HR, Ethical Leadership and Decision Making, Marketing and Sales, Digital Marketing, Operations and Systems Management, Quality and Project Management, Risk Management, Intelligent Business Information Systems, Strategy, Enterprise and Innovation, and Entrepreneurship. Computing and Creative Technologies Contact: Computing: Dr Ivan Jordanov Creative Technologies: Dr Janet Delve Supervision is available in the following areas: Computational Intelligence, Pervasive Computing, Systems and Information Systems, Virtual Reality and Advanced Interactive Technologies, Future Proof Computing, Computer Games Design and Technology, High- Performance Visualisation, Computer Animation, Intelligent Systems and Robotics, and Digital Storytelling. Education, Childhood and Youth Studies Contact: Dr Wendy Sims-Schouten ac.uk Supervision is available in the following areas: Childhood Health and Culture, Digital Society and Education, Pedagogy, and Policy and Practice in Education. Engineering Contact: Dr David Ndzi Supervision is available in the following areas: Mechanical Engineering, Intelligent and Networked Systems, Thermofluid Petroleum and Energy Engineering.

9 English Literature Contact: Dr Patricia Pulham Supervision is available in the following areas: Early Modern Writing, Nineteenth-Century Literature and Culture, and Twentieth and Twenty- First Century British and American Literature. Film, Media and Performing Arts Contact: Dr Justin Smith Supervision is available in the following areas: Creative and Media Writing, Film, Theatre and Performance, Media Studies and Digital Storytelling. Geography, Earth and Environmental Science Contact: Geography: Dr Nick Pepin Earth and Environmental Science: Dr David Martil ac.uk Supervision is available in the following areas: Geographies of Health, Well-Being and Lifecourse, Historical Geography and Spatial Analysis, Environmental Processes and Change, Applied Geoscience, Crustal Evolution, Ecotoxicology and Environmental Modelling, Applied Physics, Biodiversity and Evolution, and Rock Mechanics. Health Sciences and Social Work Contact: Dr Ann Dewey Supervision is available in the following areas: Allergic and Respiratory Disorders, Health and Social Care Environments, Health and Social Care of the Older Person, Global Health and Social Care.

10 History, Sociology and Politics Contact: Dr Patricia Pulham Supervision is available in the following areas: History, War, Revolution and Religious Persecution, Gender Theory, Sociology, Complexity of Contemporary Society, Politics and International Relations, and Foreign and Economic Policy. Law and Criminology Contact: Law: Mr Kieran Walsh Criminology: Dr Andy Williams Supervision is available in the following areas: Clinical Legal Education, Corporate Governance, Constitutional Law, Discrimination Law, Employment Law, Family Law, European Law, Risk, Security and Counter Fraud, Policing Crime and Investigating, and Youth Crime and Social Justice. Mathematics and Physics Contact: Mathematics: Dr Dirk Hennig Physics (Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation): Dr David Bacon Supervision is available in the following areas: Applied Mathematics, Nonlinear and Complex Systems, Logistics and Operational Research, Early Universe and Particle Cosmology, Structure Formation in the Universe and Galaxy Evolution. Modern Languages and Area Studies Contact: Dr Mario Saraceni Supervision is available in the following areas: European Studies, Applied Linguistics, Sociolinguistics and Translation.

11 Psychology Contact: Professor Alan Costall Supervision is available in the following areas: Forensic Psychology, Comparative and Evolutionary Psychology, Situated Action and Communication, Quality of Life, and Health and Wellbeing. Sport and Exercise Science Contact: Professor Joanna Scurr Supervision is available in the following areas: Extreme Environmental Medicine and Science, Breast Health, and Human Performance and Health. For full details about the types of research degree and the subject areas, please visit

12 How to apply We recommend that you contact us in the first instance using the Departmental Research Degree Coordinator details on the previous pages. We can then put you in touch with a potential supervisor. You can contact us through our website postgraduate-research or by ing the Graduate School at [email protected]. When you are ready to make a formal application, you will need to complete a personal statement, our online application form and, depending on the department you are applying to, a research proposal. Please check the research subject area pages on our website to find out exactly what is required for your research area: postgraduate-research/apply. Upon receipt of your application, the Faculty Admissions Centre and the Faculty Research Degrees Coordinator will determine whether we can supervise your intended research. If your application is accepted, we will invite you for an interview. If your application is unsuccessful we will write to inform you of the reasons. Entry requirements You will need to meet the following requirement to undertake a research degree at the University of Portsmouth: A good honours degree or equivalent in a relevant subject or a Master s degree in an appropriate subject. For a Medical Doctorate your first degree must be in a clinical subject. Exceptionally, equivalent professional experience and/or qualifications will be considered.

13 For those students without English as a first language or without a first degree from an English speaking University, an English Language Proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.5 with no component score below 6.0 is required. Applicants to subject areas recognised as having a particularly linguistically demanding standard (Law, Applied Linguistics, Translation Studies and English Literature) will be required to have achieved an IELTS score in band 7 or equivalent, providing that no component of the IELTS profile is more than 1.0 below the overall score. Please visit the website to find the specific entry requirements at

14 Funding Specific funding opportunities are posted on the relevant research degree subject pages on our website. You can usually apply for a place before you have secured funding for the research. Having an offer of a place may be of assistance if you need to apply to grant giving bodies. Please visit our website for further advice on securing funding at International support We offer dedicated support for international students through our International Office. They can guide you through the application process and provide advice and guidance in a number of areas from language requirements to visa applications, and international bursaries and scholarships. Please visit the International Office website for further information at

15 Contact us T: E: W: For admission enquiries, please contact the relevant admissions team in the appropriate faculty: Creative and Cultural Industries Humanities and Social Sciences Portsmouth Business School Faculty of Science Faculty of Technology

16 Graduate School 4th Floor, St Andrew s Court St Michael s Road Portsmouth PO1 2PR MD T: E: [email protected] W: postgraduate-research